Well Done

Rating: Null/10 (26 October 2003)

It's a shame when movie studios feel the need to market a film in a way that makes it appear to be something that it's not. Obviously it's a blatant attempt to draw a certain crowd to see it, and usually when they do, the audience ends up disappointed because they were expecting something different. It happened with The Truman Show (a new wacky Jim Carrey comedy!) just to mention the first one that came to mind, and now 28 Days Later.
How such a well-made, visceral, and intelligent movie is called the worst movie of the year by some folks out there is really sad. It's true that there were a lot of horror movie elements to it, a little gore, and even a couple scenes that made me jump, but when it was over I was impressed by how what was becoming another standard "group of survivors fight off zombies" movie became almost a tale of morality. Most people seem to feel that the final third of the movie was where it went downhill, but for me, a huge horror movie buff, I thought that the final chapter was where this movie became a lot more than I ever expected.
**SPOILERS** I'm very impressed by how this movie didn't ignore loopholes that you might find in most other disaster/sci-fi/horror flicks. If anything, they confronted them head-on. I never really thought about what would happen if in fact some people did escape a scenario like the one in 28 Days Later. Sure, they survived, but then what. The part that got me the most antsy and in a way scared while watching the movie was during the army base section because the "zombies" weren't the evil - humans were. More specifically the scariest threat ended up not being the zombies, it became the army whose job and purpose is to be the heroes that save people. That to me is where this movie transcended the typical horror genre and became much more. It actually made me think.
** END OF SPOILERS **
To those expecting another slasher flick where beautiful people get picked off one by one by someone in a mask, go see the unnecessary Texas Chainsaw remake or another mindless and generic horror movie. To everyone else who appreciates a little bit of intelligence and a movie that will scares you in a deeper way, watch 28 Days Later.